Metallic Cabinet Door Organizer

ABSTRACT

A metallic cabinet door organizer providing a convenient, functional, space saving, efficient, lightweight, concealed, and inexpensive method for magnetically mounting printed material and other small household/office items to the inside panel of cabinet doors, which would otherwise be wasted space. The metallic cabinet door organizer comprises a flat metal plate, an optional adhesive agent layer for adhering the metal plate to the inside of a cabinet door, an optional color and/or other coating/sealant applied to the metal plate and optional anchoring hardware for anchoring the metal plate to the inside of a cabinet door. The metal plate, adhesive layer, color and/or other coating/sealant may be secured inside or outside of the inner rabbet of a cabinet door&#39;s outer frame.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention disclosed herein relates to both magnet boards and cabinetdoors. More specifically, it relates to attaching magnet boards to theinside of cabinet doors to provide convenience and functionality fromotherwise wasted space.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Both magnetic boards and cabinet doors have existed for many years.Magnet boards exist in many shapes and sizes for a variety of purposes.Magnet boards consist of a flat metal plate on which magnets are used tohold printed material and other small household/office items.

Cabinet doors also exist in many shapes and sizes but generally speakinga cabinet door consists of an outer frame with a rectangular shape andan inner panel permanently attached within the outer frame.

A major disadvantage with cabinet doors is that the space on the insideof the cabinet door is wasted space. In addition, existing prior artrelated to mounting or displaying printed material are not suitable forattaching to the inside of cabinet doors.

Examples of patented display related devices that are illustrative ofsuch prior art include U.S. Pat. No. 4,976,055 to Kane; U.S. Pat. No.5,987,825 to Rosen; U.S. Pat. No. 5,704,147 to Rellinger; U.S. Pat. No.5,384,999 to Roche and Farber; U.S. Pat. No. 5,295,342 to Roche andFarber; U.S. Pat. No. 4,738,043 to Ernst; U.S. Pat. No. 4,583,312 toKing and Robinson; U.S. Pat. No. 3,942,147 to Josephson; U.S. Pat. No.4,475,300 to Ledenican.

Examples of patented cabinet door related devices that are illustrativeof such prior art include U.S. Pat. No. 6,224,176 to Suzuki; U.S. PatNo. 6,367,898 to Jobe; U.S. patent application Doc No. 20020089271 toTurner.

While these display related devices may be suitable for a specificpurpose, they are not suitable for attaching to the inside of a cabinetdoor. Many are too deep so they interfere with the contents of thecabinet. Many are designed specifically to display items in public andare therefore too heavy and cumbersome to attach to a cabinet door.

Cabinet doors are not manufactured with a display or mounting relateddevice on the inside of the cabinet door, therefore causing asignificant amount of wasted space.

It is thus apparent that the need exists for a functional way to displayor mount items on the inside of cabinet doors without causing asignificant amount of wasted space. In these respects, the metalliccabinet door organizer, as presented in this invention, significantlydistinguishes itself from the designs and concepts of the prior art. Indoing so, it provides a convenient, functional, space saving, efficient,lightweight, concealed, and inexpensive method of magnetically mountingprinted material and other small household items to the inside panel ofcabinet doors, which would otherwise be wasted space.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In light of the noted disadvantages inherent in the known types ofcabinet and display related devices existing in the prior art, thepresent invention provides a functional, space saving, efficient,lightweight, concealed, and inexpensive method of magnetically mountingprinted material and other small household items to the inside panel ofcabinet doors, which would otherwise be wasted space.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a metallic cabinetdoor organizer with all of the advantages previously mentioned. Thefeatures and advantages of this invention have not been suggested,anticipated, made obvious or implied by any of the prior art cabinetdevices or display devices, either separate or in any combination.

In accordance with the present invention, there is disclosed a metalcabinet door organizer comprising a flat metal plate that is attached tothe inside of a cabinet door. The flat metal plate can be permanentlyattached to the inside of a cabinet door's outer frame, it can besecured within the inner rabbet of a cabinet door's outer frame alongwith the inner panel, or it can be attached to the inside inner panel ofa cabinet door.

The primary purpose of this invention is to create a metallic cabinetdoor organizer that will overcome the deficiencies of the prior artdevices.

Another purpose is to provide a functional use for otherwise wastedspace on the inside of cabinet doors.

Still another purpose is to provide a metallic cabinet door organizer tohelp keep household, office and other work spaces organized. Thesespaces include, but are not limited to, such areas as kitchens, officesand home offices. Household and office items such as note paper,schedules, coupons, etc can be held against the metallic plate withindividual magnets. Hooks, clips and other miscellaneous magneticallyequipped holding devices can be magnetically attached to any part of themetallic plate. These in turn can hold such household items ascalendars, key rings, note paper, pens, pencils, etc.

Yet another purpose is to provide a metallic cabinet door organizer thatis concealed for aesthetic purposes.

Another purpose is to provide a metallic cabinet door organizer that islightweight so as not to stress the cabinet door hinges that hold thecabinet door to the cabinet.

Still another purpose is to provide a metallic cabinet door organizerthat is inexpensive to the general public.

The purposes outlined above are only one embodiment of this invention.Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing detailed description, the accompanying drawings and theappended claims. It is to be understood that the invention's applicationis not limited to the details of construction outlined previously or inthe drawings that follow. The invention is capable of having variousapplications and embodiments. Also, it is to be understood that theterminology used herein should not be regarded as limiting.

To accomplish the purposes outlined above, this invention may beembodied as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. These drawings arefor illustrative purposes only. Changes may be made in the specificconstruction illustrated and still remain within the scope of theappended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The previous and further objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will become fully appreciated from the following descriptionof a preferred embodiment when considered in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, wherein identical numbers are used to representidentical elements and wherein:

FIG. 1 is an upper perspective view of the present invention applied tothe recessed inner panel of an outer cabinet door frame.

FIG. 2 is an upper perspective view of the present invention applied tothe non-recessed inner panel of an outer cabinet door frame.

FIG. 3. is a vertical sectional view on an enlarged scale of the presentinvention secured outside of the inner rabbet of a cabinet door's outerframe taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4. is an exploded view of the present invention secured within theinner rabbet of a cabinet door's outer frame.

FIG. 5. is a vertical sectional view on an enlarged scale of the presentinvention secured within the inner rabbet of a cabinet door's outerframe taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 1.

In describing the preferred embodiment of the invention which isillustrated in the drawings, specific terminology will be resorted tofor the sake of clarity. However, it is not intended that the inventionbe limited to the specific term so selected and it is to be understoodthat each specific term includes all technical equivalents which operatein a similar manner to accomplish a similar purpose.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Having reference to the drawings, attention is directed first to FIG. 1,which discloses a metallic cabinet door organizer made in accordancewith the invention and designated generally by the numeral 20. As can beappreciated from a comparison of FIGS. 1-5, the metallic cabinet doororganizer 20 includes a flat metal plate 38, a preferred (but optional)adhesive layer 35, an optional color and/or other coating/sealant 40 andoptional anchoring hardware 42.

Traditional cabinetry consists of a housing structure with one or morecabinet doors 30 pivotally attached to the structure. As shown in FIGS.1 and 2, some cabinet doors are constructed with a recessed inner panel34 while others have a non-recessed inner panel 36. FIGS. 1 and 2 show aflat metal plate 38 attached to the inside of both types of cabinetpanels. Preferably, the flat metal plate 38 is attached to the cabinetpanels with an adhesive layer 35, but may be attached to the inner panelor the outer frame using anchoring hardware 42 such as screws or nails.

FIG. 3 shows an optional color and/or other coating/sealant 40 appliedto the flat metal plate 38. FIG. 3 also shows that the flat metal plate38 may be attached to the inner panel 34 without being secured withinthe inner rabbet 36 of a cabinet door's outer frame 32. This embodimentwould most likely be used after a cabinet door has been manufactured.

FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 show the preferred embodiment during the cabinet doormanufacturing process. Both figures show the preferred adhesive layer35, the flat metal plate 38 and the optional color and/or othercoating/sealant all secured within the inner rabbet 36 of a cabinetdoor's outer frame 32. Optional anchoring hardware 42 is also shown inFIGS. 4 and 5.

As is apparent from the above description, the invention provides aconvenient, functional, space saving, efficient, lightweight andconcealed method of magnetically mounting printed material and othersmall household items to the inside panel of cabinet doors, which wouldotherwise be wasted space. Thus, the invention solves the aforementionedproblems of the related-art with a simple, inexpensive design.

With respect to the above description, it is to be understood that thepresent invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiment orconstructions. The above description and figures are to be considered asillustrative only of the principles of the invention. The presentinvention is intended to cover a variety of modifications andequivalents. It is to be understood that the invention is not limited tothis precise form of apparatus and that changes may be made thereinwithout departing from the scope of the invention which is defined inthe appended claims.

1. A metallic cabinet door organizer for the inner panel of a cabinet door, said metallic cabinet door organizer comprising: a flat metal plate; an optional adhesive agent layer for adhering said flat metal plate to the inner panel of a cabinet door; an optional color and/or other coating/sealant applied to the said metal plate; and optional anchoring hardware for anchoring said metal plate to the inside of the inner panel of a cabinet door.
 2. The metallic cabinet door organizer according to claim 1, wherein said flat metal plate is non-corrosive.
 3. The metallic cabinet door organizer according to claim 1, wherein said flat metal plate is covered with a color agent layer.
 4. The metallic cabinet door organizer according to claim 1, wherein said flat metal plate is covered with a protective agent layer.
 5. The metallic cabinet door organizer according to claim 3, wherein said color agent layer is covered with a protective agent layer.
 6. A metallic cabinet door organizer for the inner panel of a cabinet door, said metallic cabinet door organizer comprising: a flat metal plate; an optional adhesive agent layer for adhering said flat metal plate to the inner panel of a cabinet door; a color and sealant applied to the said metal plate; and anchoring hardware for anchoring said metal plate to the cabinet door.
 7. The metallic cabinet door organizer according to claim 6, wherein said flat metal plate is non-corrosive.
 8. The metallic cabinet door organizer according to claim 6, wherein said flat metal plate is covered with a color agent layer.
 9. The metallic cabinet door organizer according to claim 6, wherein said flat metal plate is covered with a protective agent layer.
 10. The metallic cabinet door organizer according to claim 8, wherein said color agent layer is covered with an optional protective agent layer.
 11. The metallic cabinet door organizer according to claim 1, wherein said metal plate is secured to the cabinet door within the inner rabbet of the cabinet door's outer frame. 